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Cell biology

Histone modification

DEHiston-Modifikation

Histone modifications are reversible chemical changes to histone proteins. (Your DNA wraps around those proteins.) They include acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination. They work in two ways. They reshape how tightly the chromatin is packed. And they recruit regulatory complexes. Through that, they control gene transcription, DNA repair, and replication. The combined pattern is often called the 'histone code'. As you age, shifts in these marks contribute to epigenetic drift. They also drive loss of cell identity, and dysregulated stress and longevity pathways.

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Sources

  1. Strahl BD, Allis CD. (2000). The language of covalent histone modifications. *Nature*doi:10.1038/47412
  2. Han S, Brunet A. (2012). Histone methylation makes its mark on longevity. *Trends in Cell Biology*doi:10.1016/j.tcb.2011.11.001